A recently signed letter-of-intent agreement gives the junior an exclusive 90-day look at the historic underground mine, which produced a complex nickel-copper-platinum-palladium ore from a pyroxenitic dyke of Precambrian age and adjacent gneisses of slightly older age.
Between 1900 and 1919, the average grade of production ore was 2.55% copper and 3.29% nickel, plus 0.183 oz. platinum per ton. No palladium was reported, though minor cobalt (averaging 0.06%) was produced.
More recent exploration by Falconbridge and Superior Oil, among other companies, has resulted in the calculation of underground and surface reserves and resources.
The latest estimate (not including mined-out material) yielded a resource of 226,600 tons at a weighted average grade of 1.5% copper, 1.09% nickel, 0.037% cobalt, 0.06 oz. platinum, 0.068 oz. palladium, 0.01 oz. gold and 0.34 oz. silver. This calculation includes 22,000 tons of surface stockpiles, and was based on a shallow 16-hole drill program on 50-ft. centres and four surface channel samples.
The system is open at depth and along strike. The current resource is believed to be minable by open-pit methods. The underground mine was developed to a depth of 312 ft. on six levels but is now flooded.
Based on a reconnaissance investigation by an independent consultant, the area surrounding the mine is known to have numerous structurally controlled dykes and sill-like bodies of pyroxenite. These generally strike to the northeast and dip southeast and northwest.
Conquistador hopes to target the intersection and convergence of the dykes and sills by carrying out geological mapping and geophysics; those areas were not previously explored. This phase will be followed by a core or reverse-circulation drilling program to establish the potential for a large-tonnage system of nickel and platinum group metals (PGMs).
The company believes that the region’s geology, mineralogy, and metal distribution resembles the Noril’sk deposits in Siberia.
Another goal is to expand the existing resource for near-term open-pit and underground mining. The company also hopes to define the cobalt potential, which locally reaches high grades, and test for rhodium and gallium, which have been reported but not defined by past assaying.
The Nevada project reflects a decision to diversify from Conquistador’s existing gold projects in Colombia to PGM projects in the Americas. Other projects are being examined.
Conquistador paid US$5,000 on signing the preliminary agreement for the Nevada project. A further US$10,000 will be paid once an option agreement is signed, representing the first of several payments totalling US$305,000.
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